Trask's Historical Linguistics

Trask’s Historical Linguistics provides an accessible introduction to historical linguistics – the study of language change over time. This engaging book is illustrated with language examples from all six continents, and covers the fundamental concepts of language change, methods for historical linguistics, linguistic reconstruction, sociolinguistic aspects of language change, language contact, the birth and death of languages, language and prehistory, and the issue of very remote relations. The fourth edition of this renowned textbook is fully revised and updated and covers the most recent developments in historical linguistics, including: A thorough reworking of sections on morphological and syntactic change, incorporating progress in areas such as grammaticalization and the discussion of the Indo-European ‘homeland’ Discussion and analysis of ‘folk’ historical linguistics and its connection with some of the more eccentric views of professional linguists An expanded discussion of language contact, historical sociolinguistics, and language planning, including a discussion of contemporary competing views on the genesis and nature of creoles, and their importance in our understanding of radical linguistic change Updated support material including suggestions for essay questions and a larger number of supporting examples of the phenomena described in the book Trask’s Historical Linguistics is essential reading for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students of historical linguistics as well as any student looking for a grounded introduction to the English language.

Table of Contents:
List of illustrations To the reader To the teacher Acknowledgements Abbreviations 1. The fact of language change 1.1 Irregardless 1.2 English then and now 1.3 Attitudes to language change 1.4 The inevitability of change Case-study: kind regards Further reading Exercises 2. Lexical and semantic change 2.1 Borrowing 2.2 Phonological treatment of loans 2.3 Morphological treatment of loans 2.4 Formation of new words 2.5 Change in word-meaning Case study: nice Further reading Exercises 3. Phonological change 1: Change in pronunciation 3.1 The phonetic basis of phonological change 3.2 Assimilation and dissimilation 3.3 Lenition and fortition 3.4 Addition and removal of phonetic features 3.5 Vowels and syllable structure 3.6 Whole-segment processes 3.7 The regularity issue: a first look Case study: Germanic */xw/ in the present-day dialects 3.8 Summary Further reading Exercises 4. Phonological change II: Change in phonological systems 4.1 Conditioning and rephonologization 4.2 Phonological space 4.3 Chain shifts Case study: large scale change in the Germanic consonant system - Grimm’s Law and Verner’s Law 4.4 Summary Further reading Exercises 5. Morphological change 5.1 Reanalysis 5.2 Analogy and levelling 5.3 Universal principles of analogy 5.4 Morphologization 5.5 Morphologization of phonological rules 5.6 Change in morphological type Case study: The evolution of the definite article from the demonstrative paradigm in English Further reading Exercises 6. Syntactic change 6.1 Reanalysis of surface structure 6.2 Shift of markedness 6.3 Grammaticalization 6.4 Typological harmony 6.5 Syntactic change as restructuring of grammars Case study: the rise of ergativity Further reading Exercises 7. Relatedness between languages 7.1 The origin of dialects 7.2 Dialect geography 7.4 Tree model and wave model 7.5 The language families of the world Case study: A Martian’s view on the Germanic language family Further reading Exercises 8. The comparative method 8.1 Systematic correspondences 8.2 Comparative reconstruction 8.3 Pitfalls and limitations 8.4 The Neogrammarian Hypothesis 8.5 Semantic reconstruction 8.6 The use of typology and universals 8.7 Reconstructing grammar 8.8 The reality of proto-languages Case study: A reconstruction too far? Further reading Exercises 9. Internal Reconstruction 9.1 A first look at the internal method 9.2 Alternations and internal reconstruction 9.3 Internal reconstruction of grammar and lexicon Case study: The laryngeal theory of PIE Further reading Exercises 10. The origin and propagation of change 10.1 The Saussurean paradox 10.2 Variation and social stratification 10.3 Variation as the vehicle of change 10.4 Lexical diffusion 10.5 Near-mergers Case study: historical sociolinguistics Further reading Exercises 11. Social and historical pressures upon language 11.1 Linguistic contact 11.2 Linguistic areas 11.3 Language birth: pidgins and creoles 11.4 Language planning 11.5 Language death Case study: the genesis and development of American and New Zealand English Further reading Exercises 12. Language and pre-history 12.1 Introduction 12.2 Linguistic palaeontology 12.3 Links with archaeology 12.4 Statistical methods Case study: Greenberg’s mass comparison Further reading Exercises Appendix: The Swadesh 200-word list References Index

About the Author :
Robert McColl Millar is Professor of Linguistics and Scottish Language at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. He has published widely on, amongst other things, linguistic contact and rapid language change, the sociology of language, and dialectology. His most recent publications include Contact: The Interaction of Closely Related Linguistic Varieties and the History of English (2016) and A Sociolinguistic History of Scotland (2020). He has recently completed A History of the Scots Language, which will be published in 2023. R L Trask was Professor of Linguistics at the University of Sussex, UK, and a leading authority on Basque language and historical linguistics. His book The History of Basque (1997) is an essential reference on diachronic Basque linguistics, and probably the best-known introduction to Basque linguistics. He also wrote about the problem of the origin of language and, amongst his other publications, the very successful foundational text, Language: The Basics (1995).

Review :
Since its first publication in 1996, Trask’s Historical Linguistics has been the resource for teaching historical linguistics. It’s great to have a new edition, carefully updated and revised by language change expert McColl Millar, so that future generations can also work with this gem of a textbook! Professor Alexander Bergs, Osnabrück University, Germany Trask's Historical Linguistics is that rare thing: a wide-ranging textbook for both undergraduates and postgraduates that is not only as an authoritative introduction to the topic but also offers new insights into major research problems. Robert McColl Millar's latest revision is a tour-de-force of clear, up-to-date and indeed inspirational exposition. It can be heartily recommended. Jeremy J. Smith, University of Glasgow, Scotland